THE mum of a young girl who has devastatingly been diagnosed with a brain tumour for the second time is on a fundraising mission to support her daughter - but she admits she’s facing a race against time.

Taliyah Whitworth, 12, from Silkstone, was diagnosed with grade four classical medulloblastoma - a tumour in the part of the brain that controls balance and coordination - when she was just five years old.

Her mum, 33-year-old Sophie, told the Chronicle that she had to fight for her daughter’s diagnosis.

She said: “She was five years old and she was suffering with her mood and she was being sick on a night - her whole personality changed.

“Over a six month period I was taking her to the doctors and they said she was probably coming down with something.

“She started going a bit unstable on her feet - I took her to an A and E and they kept saying the same thing.

“I was even told that she was allergic to strawberries.

“One day school rang and told me Taliyah had fallen asleep and she was struggling to wake up.

“I went to A and E and demanded that she was seen and it took one paediatric doctor to do a scan.

“I had security trying to remove me but it took that one doctor to listen to me.

“He looked at her and I could tell he could see what I could see.

“I knew instantly that the energy was off and that it was bad news.

“I started flooding into tears in shock - I was told she had a brain tumour.

“We were told that she could have died that night it was that bad.

“We were blue-lighted to Sheffield Children’s Hospital - it was the worst time of my life.”

The tumour was at the back of Taliyah’s head and Sophie found that it had been blocking fluid going down to her spine.

She then underwent a 14-hour surgery to fully remove the tumour.

And she says that following the operation, her daughter was never the same.

“I say that I lost my little girl that day, she was never the same,” she added.

“She had the strongest radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

“It’s a very nasty tumour - it’s been a really hard seven years.

“She couldn’t walk, talk or eat - we had to learn her to do that all again.

“She just wasn’t the same.

“It took its toll on everybody.”

Sophie said that she and her family were finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel after a torrid seven years.

But on May 3, she was told the devastating news that the tumour had returned - only this time it was inoperable.

“We’d just got to a point where everything looked like it was going well,” she said.

“Our life had just got better and it’s been amazing.

“We’d just started to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Taliyah started having problems with her neck, her moods had changed.

“I knew straight away that something wasn’t right.

“I pushed for her to have a scan and the tumour has returned.

“She then had to go straight into surgery about a week ago - they took some of it out but a lot of it has spread in the brain and it can’t be removed.

“The biopsy has come out and it’s returned.

“They can only give her chemo to prolong her life.

“There’s no cure - there’s nothing we can do.”

The illness and subsequent treatment has taken its toll on Taliyah - and Sophie is hoping to treat her daughter using a more holistic approach.

Whether that be through oxygen treatment or supplements, Sophie knows she has to try everything she can.

She said: “I am a big believer in holistic healing and I am praying and believing that if I get this funding I will save my little girl.

“Some of the machines can be up to £40,000.

“I don’t want to be travelling her up and down the country.

“I don’t want to put her under any more stress than she needs to be under.

“Supplements have just cost me £300 - that’ll be a month.

“I want to heal my daughter but I want to help other people.

“If I invest in a machine I can support other people as well.”

A fundraiser has subsequently been set up, and more than £4,000 has already been raised to support the family in a race against time.

Sophie added: “She’s not doing really well at the moment.

“Time is not on our side - it’s a fast aggressive tumour.

“Anything that can be done would be brilliant.”

To donate to the fundraiser, click here.